Big Walter Horton

Biography

Big Walter Horton was one of the key architects of modern blues
harmonica. Blues legend Willie Dixon referred to him as "the best
harmonica player I ever heard." Along with Little Walter Jacobs and Sonny Boy
Williamson II, he is considered to be one of the most influential harpists
ever. He was capable of both intense power and fragile delicacy, often in
the same song. He was endlessly melodically adventurous, and always
unpredictable.

Walter Horton was born in Horn Lake, MS on April 6, 1917,
but his mother soon moved to Memphis where Walter grew up. A child
prodigy, he taught himself how to play the harmonica at the age of five. He
later learned more about his instrument by working with pioneering harp players
Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band and Hammie Nixon, who recorded with Delta
bluesman Sleepy John Estes.

Horton became one of the most in-demand
young harp men in Memphis, playing with future Chicago blues greats like Eddie
Taylor, Floyd Jones and Johnny Shines. Shines recalled that Sonny Boy Williamson
II (Rice Miller) used to come to Horton for lessons, though Williamson was the
older man. Even the brilliant Little Walter Jacobs acknowledged that he
"ran" with Big Walter in Memphis during the 1940s, though he would never admit
learning from Horton. Big Walter moved to Chicago in the late 1940s, but
often returned home to Memphis.

Big Walter Horton's recording career
began in 1951, when he and Memphis guitarist Jimmy DeBerry cut four sides for
Modern/RPM Records. Two years later, he cut the superb instrumental
Easy for the legendary Sun label. After moving to Chicago, Walter
recorded a number of singles, including powerhouse recordings like Hard
Hearted Woman and Have A Good Time, both produced by Willie
Dixon. But Walter was never aggressive enough to keep a band together to
capitalize on these recordings. In Chicago, a blues bandleader had to not only
play the music, but also had to hustle the jobs for his band. For the shy,
withdrawn Horton, this was an impossible task. As a result, his next session as
a leader was in 1964, when he cut an LP, The Soul Of Blues Harmonica,
for Argo, a Chess Records subsidiary. Although Walter played well, the
sessions, again produced by his friend Willie Dixon, never quite jelled.
On the other hand, Walter's featured track on the famed Vanguard Records'
collection, Chicago/The Blues/Today!, caught him in a relaxed
bandstand-style jam with his young student Charlie Musselwhite.

So, during the 1950s and 1960s, Horton worked mostly as a sideman. He
cut with Muddy Waters on classics like Blow Wind Blow and the original
I'm Ready. He was heard behind Johnny Shines on Evening Sun,
with Otis Rush on the original I Can't Quit You Baby and his solo on
Jimmy Rogers' Walking By Myself is considered a masterpiece. His harp
sparked sessions with Willie Dixon on Columbia and BASF, with J.B. Hutto, Eddie
Taylor, Floyd Jones and Johnny Shines on their Testament LPs, and with Johnny
Young and Big Mama Thornton on Arhoolie, as well as appearing on Johnny Winter's
first album on Columbia.

His only Alligator Records album, BIG WALTER HORTON WITH CAREY
BELL, came out in 1972. It paired him with his young protégé, who had
played under Walter's tutelage since Bell's arrival in Chicago. Walter's
long-time partner Eddie Taylor joined them on guitar. It was Alligator's
second-ever release, and received widespread critical acclaim, especially for
the fiery harp duets that pitted the two harmonica masters against one
another.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Walter toured with Willie Dixon's
Chicago Blues All Stars, crisscrossing the U.S. and Europe. He appeared on
albums with Fleetwood Mac and members of Savoy Brown, and on virtually every
record Willie Dixon produced during those years. After the release of his
Alligator album, Walter left Dixon to perform on his own. He appeared at many
festivals, including the Ann Arbor and Miami Blues Festivals, the Monterey Jazz
Festival and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. When at home,
he played with old friends like Floyd Jones and Playboy Vinson, primarily at
B.L.U.E.S., the well-known Chicago club.

Big Walter Horton continued to perform and record for a variety of labels
until his death in Chicago on December 8, 1981.